In 1986 former Republican state legislator Ray Metcalfe chose to run against Jan Faiks, who had defeated him in 1982, as an independent under the "Republican Moderate" ballot line which was approved by the state in June.
[2] Shortly before the election the Alaska Republican Party attempted to have a court remove him from the ballot stating that it would confuse voters, however the assistant attorney general stated that it was late for the Republicans to challenge his ballot access.
[3] On September 17, 1986, the Alaskan Republican Party filed a lawsuit to remove Metcalfe from the ballot and barr him from using "Republican" in his party name, but they were rejected and Metcalfe was allowed to stay on the ballot.
After a record of success in the 1990s, its support has slowly dwindled, ending with just 0.63% of the 2002 gubernatorial election.
Allegations of collusion with oil companies and bribery ran for years,[13] culminating with an FBI raid on the state senator's office[14] and his retirement from public life.